Opponents' Arguments present...

Posted: Thursday, August 2, 2012 by CSULB Nursing Student Editors in
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Mike Reynolds -- Author of the language for California's Three Strikes Law.
"Once someone has been convicted of two serious or violent offences, I suggest it's pretty clear what they are capable of. If this passes, we are likely to see property crimes going up all over the state, and in very short order"

"California saw a 37% drop in crime in the first 4 years after implementing the Three Strikes"

"If criminals are ont he street, especially repeat offenders, what are they going to be doing?"

"While all states have seen drops in crime, none have as much as in California [with Three Strikes]"

The Standford Daily News Article regarding Three Strikes Law ballot initiative
* The link above is the same article as the previous post


With that in mind, what could be the false interpretation of the decreased crime rate in California? Please voice your opinion at the comment box
(Click the word balloon at the top right corner to comment)

4 comments:

  1. Rachel says:
    August 2, 2012 at 2:06 PM

    I don't think we can give all credit to the Three Strikes Law for the drop in crime rate in Los Angeles. There are other efforts in the city by groups and individuals to lower certain crimes, such as gang violence.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57469055/ex-los-angeles-gang-members-work-to-stop-violence/

    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122498235

    Also, if these ex-gang members were sentenced to life in prison due to the three strikes law, would they be able to contribute their experiences from the past as gang members to prevent gang violence in Los Angeles today? I definitely believe that Three Strikes Law is too harsh. Money spent on maintain all those prisoners who are incarcerated for life for committing petty crimes should be spent on actually preventing serious issues, such as gang violence.

  1. SEAJIN -- CSULB Editor says:
    August 2, 2012 at 2:16 PM

    Thank you for your input as well as the links for the articles. I agree that Three Strikes Law isn't the sole reason for decreased crime rates in LA. More research data needs to be considered in terms of different types of crimes that are decreased after the Three Strikes Law was enforced.

  1. SEAJIN -- CSULB Editor says:
    August 2, 2012 at 2:58 PM

    Rachel, in response to your comment, I added more information of an effect of Three Strikes Law in regards to decreased crime rates over the decade on the most recent post. I understand that the data needs to be updated, however, it may show a bigger picture in consideration of other types of offenses.

  1. Gael Sami says:
    August 16, 2012 at 3:57 PM

    I think as Seajin said - you have to look at all the contributing factors: http://ag.ca.gov/cjsc/publications/misc/why/3sec3.pdf

    Also there is some evidence that suggests crime increases due to many factors resulting from imprisonment. Check out this article - it is very interesting. http://hosted.law.wisc.edu/lawreview/issues/2008_6/1_-_pritikin.pdf